The IBM Administration Server

The Apache Web server requires a user to configure it by manually editing the configuration file. IBM HTTP Server v.1.3.12 includes the IBM Administration Server as a component that is separately installed in the IBM HTTP Server directory.

The Web server administrator configures IBM HTTP Server by pointing a browser (at least Netscape 4.06 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0) to the IBM Administration Server, which is installed on a different port from the Web server itself. For example, if IBM HTTP Server is installed at: http://user.raleigh.ibm.com, the IBM Administration Server might be installed at: http://user.raleigh.ibm.com:8008.

A browser pointed to the IBM Administration Server port shows a 3-paned page that consists of a navigation pane on the left, a content pane on the right and a small message pane at the top. By selecting a task in the navigation pane (such as Basic Settings > Core Settings) the administrator can see a form in the content pane with fields to fill in.

IBM HTTP Server reads the configuration file upon startup and then does not refer to it again until the server is restarted. Therefore, the IBM Administration Server can make changes to the configuration file without interrupting the running IBM HTTP Server. As an example, to change the location of the error log for IBM HTTP Server, the user would enter a new value in the Error Log field, and click Submit at the bottom of the page. The new value is changed on the ErrorLog directive in config file as soon as the Submit button is pressed. When the user finishes making other changes, he or she clicks the restart icon at the top of the page (the vertical bar inside a circle on the top blue banner) and IBM HTTP Server restarts with the changed configuration file.

Each change made on a form in the IBM Administration Server is applied to a specific set of resources, which is sometimes called a container in the configuration file. To indicate the set of resources the change should be applied to, the user selects a "Scope" on the Scope field at the top of each form. An example of a scope would be a virtual host, a directory, a location, or if the change is to apply to the entire set of resources, "Global".